The power of internships in Bulgaria

The purpose of the internship is to provide the intern (or student) with hands-on experience in their prospective career field. It also provides the employer with very valuable insight into the skills and abilities of the employee. An intern is like a work-study university student without a scholarship, thus an employer gives an intern training to help them properly do their job and increase their productivity. There are many types of internships. An employer that hires an intern for office work will expect a very different skill set from someone who hires them to be a summer computer programmer. And an employer who hires an internship to fatten up their own resume can expect an entirely different person than an employer looking for someone to gain experience that they don't have or don't want to invest in.

Despite the differences in these situations, all three internships require the same eight basic steps for the intern to complete before he or she leaves.

1. Know the goals and objectives

Make sure you know what your goals and objectives are. This is what your supervisor wants you to succeed at, and his word is law until you complete your task(s). You might say, “What if my objective is ‘to see how terrible my supervisor is’?” This goal may make you more successful, but you must be sure you know how your supervisor wants you to accomplish this goal, or you might not be left with a good impression of him. An objective is usually a measurable achievement that has a successful completion criteria. For example, “I want to learn the new Photoshop and Illustrator programs within four weeks’ time” is an objective, but, “I want to prove the purposes of each program is superfluous” is subjective and vague. Be able to prove that you have learned how to accomplish your objective.

2. Accumulate relevant background knowledge

When learning a new job goal or task, or improving your current skills and abilities, it’s necessary to understand the background material that supports it. Sometimes this background knowledge is very extensive, which can result in a low return on investment for the employer if they hired someone who already knew everything. If this background knowledge is so extensive that it would take up too much time from your training days, consider using your personal time if you still have left over after training. In most cases, however, certified teachers or tutors will be helpful in providing insight into the material that allows you perform better once you are on-the-job. Understanding the background of your work helps you do your job more effectively, but it also helps prevent embarrassing errors or accidents that show you partially as incapable.

3. Learn the procedures and protocols

Expectations for procedure and protocol vary depending on whether you are being trained for office work versus technical applications. In offices, usually it is good enough to follow instructions when doing something new, whereas in technical applications this can cause serious problems and may make you look unprofessional if you fail at completing this step properly. Often the workers will not know exactly what the procedures and protocols are if they are brand new employees, which can create confusion for everyone involved in the workplace environment. Within technical applications there are usually required procedures for different situation types that must be followed in order for the work to be completed properly. Your supervisor should know all of these performance requirements for you in his or her role as faculty advisor or teaching coach. If you’re not sure what they are, come prepared with questions (at least three) for him or her that show you have taken interest in your role and also want to learn more about it.

4. Practice performing any techniques associated with your objective(s)

The goal is to get better with each practice run until you can perform each objective flawlessly. Usually, this practice should be done at least two times to thoroughly grasp the concept as well as making sure that no new mistakes were made during the new attempt (which usually happens). For multiple objectives, prepare three problem sets where each problem set corresponds to one subject area associated with one objective. Ask your teacher for feedback during the practice attempts; he or she should be able to provide constructive criticism that helps identify improvements and/or corrections due to negligence or misperceptions that you might have made during previous attempts at the practice problems. If the practice problems are too difficult, try asking one of your fellow interns or a coworker for help; it may be possible that they can demonstrate a solution solution method or make suggestions that help improve your next attempt at practicing problems. Also, showing your solutions before they are graded is a good way to receive feedback and understanding since if they seem timid in approach they may not receive instruction on exactly how one could make these solutions acceptable for your audience (your teacher).